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Israeli Court Upholds Copyright on Dead Sea Scrolls

Bob Cox sent in this Story from ABC News on Israel’s Supreme Court upholding an Israeli scholar’s copyright on the deciphering of one of the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Amos Hausner, a lawyer for U.S. scholar Robert Eisenman, said the decision inhibits the free use of scientific knowledge.
“It’s like copyrighting scientific truth, like Einstein copyrighting ‘e equals mc2,’” Hausner said. “These ancient texts are part of the scientific knowledge.”

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“This case allowed the [Israeli] establishment to maintain a monopoly on the scrolls,” said Eisenman, a professor of Middle East Religions and Archaeology at California State University-Long Beach. “It’s had a chilling effect on my work.”
In fact, the “monopoly” is over. The scrolls — and the scholarship by Qimron and others — are now available for study on CD-ROM and in book form.
That, Qimron acknowledged, was a result of the publication of the book by Shanks, Robinson and Eisenman.
“It’s all open now,” he said. “The [Israel] Antiquities Authority decided to open it up after they published.”